What are Stakeholders in Business

Stakeholders are individuals or groups that have some claim on the company. They can be divided into internal claimants and external claimants. Internal claimants are stockholders and employees including executive officers and board member while external claimants are all other individuals and groups affected by the company’s actions. Typically, they comprise of customers, suppliers, governments, unions, competitors, local communities and the general public.

Stakeholders can influence the organisations because all stakeholders can justifiably expect that the company will attempt to satisfy their particular demands.

Besides, stakeholders provide the enterprise with capital and in exchange expect an appropriate return on their investment. Employees provide labor and skills and in exchange expect commensurate income and job satisfaction. Customers want value for money and suppliers seek dependable buyers. Governments insist on adherence to legislative regulations. Unions demand benefits for their members in proportion to their contribution to the company while rivals seek fair competition. Local communities want companies that are responsible citizens and general public seeks some assurance that the quality of life will be improved as a result of the company’s existence.

Besides that, suppliers are likely to seek more dependable buyers, whereas governments can prosecute the company.

Meanwhile, unions may engage in disruptive labor disputes and rivals may respond to unfair competition by anticompetitive moves of their own or by filing antitrust suits while communities may oppose the company’s attempt to locate its facilities in their area, and the general public ma form pressure group demanding action against companies that impair the quality of life. Any of these reactions can have a disastrous impact on the organisations. So, that is why I think that stockholders do always have the same amount of influence over an organisation.